Borders bookstore in the Alamo Quarry shopping area is selling its stock as the retailer prepares to go out of business.

Borders bookstore in the Alamo Quarry shopping area is selling its stock as the retailer prepares to go out of business.

Photo: BILLY CALZADA

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Borders bookstore in the Alamo Quarry shopping area is selling its stock as the retailer prepares to go out of business.

Borders bookstore in the Alamo Quarry shopping area is selling its stock as the retailer prepares to go out of business.

Photo: BILLY CALZADA

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Borders going out of business. July 22, 2011

Borders going out of business. July 22, 2011

Photo: Express-News Staff

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Store closing signs are posted on the exterior of the Borders book store in Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday, July 22, 2011. Borders Group began liquidation sales at all of its 399 stores as the 40-year-old chain winds down operations. less

Store closing signs are posted on the exterior of the Borders book store in Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday, July 22, 2011. Borders Group began liquidation sales at all of its 399 stores as the 40-year-old chain winds ... more

Photo: Angela J. Cesere, AP

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Borders, 19419 Gulf Freeway, shown Wednesday, July 20, 2011, in Webster. The book store is closing.

Borders, 19419 Gulf Freeway, shown Wednesday, July 20, 2011, in Webster. The book store is closing.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

An upbeat snippet for Borders store

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A Borders store at the Alamo Quarry Market is among 30 of the bookseller's locations that might remain open if a proposed bid by rival Books-A-Million goes through.

It is the only Texas store that is being considered by Books-A-Million, which already has one store on the Northwest Side near the intersection of Braun Road and Loop 1604. Borders has two other locations in San Antonio that are not being considered by Books-A-Million — one at The Forum at Olympia Parkway and another at the Huebner Oaks shopping center.

The two chains are still in talks. If the deal goes through, the 30 stores would remain open as Books-A-Million stores.

A bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved Borders Group's plan to sell off its assets via a group of liquidators. Going-out-of-business sales are beginning at some stores, including the Quarry location. The company also has emailed its Borders Rewards Members to notify them that their Borders Bucks reward points would be valid only through July 31.

Chuck Siegel, who specializes in retail as president of Rohde, Ottmers and Siegel Realty, said the Quarry location is likely the best location in the city for a bookstore. For Books-A-Million to choose that store out of all others in Texas, it must have been doing exceptionally well.

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“I'm sure they handpicked them very, very carefully,” Siegel said. “It's good for consumers in that area, and it'll give a little competition to Barnes & Noble.”

Customers packed into the Quarry store Friday, where large banners outside the store advertised the store's liquidation sale with discounts of as much as 40 percent, excluding the store's website.

Charmaine Blazich, a die-hard Borders customer, said she was skeptical Books-A-Million could successfully replace the Quarry store, which she frequents about once a month.

“It better be as good as Borders,” the 77-year-old said as she clutched a plastic bag full of new books. “Whoever comes in has got to have a good following.”

Don Thomas, a principal at Reata Real Estate Services, which manages the shopping center, did not return messages seeking comment Friday. The store's sale to Books-A-Million cannot occur without permission from Reata.

Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said the chain's 10,700 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the liquidation but did not say how many of those employees are in the San Antonio area. She declined to comment on the company's Quarry location.

“We have not released a list” of stores being bid on, Davis said. “Therefore, we cannot comment on a specific location.”

Gordon Brothers Group, part of a group of liquidators leading the sales, said more than $700 million of the company's inventory, including books, stationery, music and movies, will be sold. Store fixtures, furnishings and equipment, including shelving and, in some cases, cafe equipment, also will be sold.

Discounts of as much as 40 percent off will be offered on the merchandise initially. Liquidation sales typically last eight to 10 weeks, and discounts usually get steeper later in the process, although merchandise is scarcer.